


Finally

by RatsVacuum



Series: Die with Honor [3]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Friendship/Love, M/M, Post-Halo 3, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 10:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18408833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatsVacuum/pseuds/RatsVacuum
Summary: 'Restraints seemed to loosen. The Shipmaster could feel old walls crumbling and defenses falling away as they sat, knee to knee and hearts to hearts.'The Arbiter and the Shipmaster share a tender moment.





	Finally

**Author's Note:**

> I legit woke up in the middle of the night to regurgitate this out ;w; It was originally written to be platonic but it may be interpreted as pretty shippy due to all the physical intimacy sooo I tagged it for both just in case because I'm kinda oblivious on what's suggestive and what's not lolol.
> 
> Anyway, I'm maaybe thinking of expanding it into a multi-chapter fic where Thel and Rtas trek to a remote temple dedicated to Urs. Cue heart-to-hearts, close scrapes with wildlife, and lots of myth and poetry ! This scene would likely be towards the end though oops.
> 
> Feedback and comments appreciated !

The sash around the Kaidon’s waist was loose, his traditional robes parted slightly, and his chest was exposed to the cool mountain breeze. What was once forcibly stripped bare and violated before the world upon a stage of disgrace and humiliation was now...different.

This was different. Calm. Content. _Consensual_. The Kaidon's chest rose and fell in time with his trusted companion.

Rtas's own tunic had been discarded, thrown away and forgotten with the rest of their gear within the makeshift tent behind them. Torn and unrecognizable, what was once pristine white was now stained with fresh violet - a violent reminder to never quarrel with a helioskrill unarmed and without armor. 

But such thoughts were reserved for the morning. Tonight, they were vulnerable and they chose to be. Unguarded and unclouded like the night sky above boasting their cosmic arrangements, refusing to stay hidden any longer. The moons, Qikost and Suban, hung not as funerary lanterns but finally as beacons of hope that guided all under the heavens.

Rtas could feel the tightness of the bandages embracing his waist, the medicinal tonics working their magic as whatever sting that ailed his side was replaced by a permeating warmth. Restraints seemed to loosen. The Shipmaster could feel old walls crumbling and defenses falling away as they sat, knee to knee and hearts to hearts. And he saw a curious hand of his, gentle and deliberate, nudge the hem of the Kaidon's robes to the side.

Then, he felt it. _Heat_ , as if bathing in Ur's light. He felt it as his palm rested against the drumming song that pulsed in the other's chest.

Rtas's thumb traced the edges of his scar, still reluctant to actually touch the smooth bluish remains of once burned flesh.

"Did it-" A soft whisper escaped him, their close proximity more intoxicating than the analgesics. "Does it hurt?"

"No, not always," Thel sighed in reply. The Shipmaster felt a calloused hand cover his own over the Arbiter's chest. "But there are times when I look upon it, and then," Rtas lifted his gaze and found tired eyes, "a different kind of hurt, one born from the fear of impending failure and disappointment. It... is a heavy burden, being Kaidon."

"And I shall help you bear it."

"And what if I bring us to an end that makes me deserving of such a brand?"

Rtas hesitated, unsure of how to answer such a question. They stared into one another. Green mingled with orange. Noble-born with the nameless. He swore, he swore he could see something in those eyes. A distant, distinct shine. Who was this that appeared like the dawn, fair as the moons, bright as the suns, majestic as the stars in procession? 

"You...you are the last person worthy of this mark, my Arbiter."

“For now, perhaps.” Thel closed his mandibles- a Sangheili smile - yet the weariness in his posture remained as he lightly squeezed his companion’s hand. “Your faith in me is...most encouraging.”

Rtas let his head fall. This mark of shame, this cruel torture, and the scars on both of their bodies and minds had brought them together. This trust, this _bond_ , forged in the hellfire of war, had given him more than just a simple friend.

“What else do I have but this?” he muttered. He laid his head on the crook of Thel’s neck and his hand fell away from the Kaidon’s, drifting from his chest to his side.

It gave him drive, a reason to fight.

“What else do I have but _you_?”

_He_ gave him a reason to live.

“Rtas-”

“I don't-”

“ _Rtas_.” The Shipmaster closed his eyes.

And at that moment the dull phantom ache - ever present and haunting where his face was lacking - was gone, replaced by the gentle warmth of a familiar palm caressing his disfigured cheek. He sighed, surrendering to his touch there and then again elsewhere.

He surrendered his all for he was finally safe and finally loved.

Finally, he was home.


End file.
